A Thief in the Night

Pietro shook himself out of dreamland and focused on the present. The cell phone in his hand rang. He answered it.
"Where are you, Man?" Lance's voice was annoyed. "I've been waiting here for over an hour, I'm starving." Lance was hiding out in one of Magneto's warehouses across town.
"I'll be there in a minute." He said, hanging up. Then he took a last look at Rogue, laughing with Kitty over lunch. He started to hail a cab when he caught sigh of an oddly shaped shadow that appeared with the sun in an unexpcted break in the clouds. Pietro reacted with his normal speed and took off down the street. The shadow looked like a giant bird, and it had been crouched above him. When he arrived at the warehouse, he grabbed Lance, ignoring his friend's protests and dragged him out. He slapped one of Jonesey's wristbands on the other man and another on himself. Then they jumped into Pietro's car and drove out of town.
Angel knew it was useless to follow Quicksilver. He couldn't fly as fast as the younger man could run. Instead, he cursed the sun that had given away his position on an awning above the sidewalk. He'd spotted Magneto's son and watched him, watching the girls. He folded his wings and shot down to the ground, startling a few of the people on the street. Rogue and Kitty were just coming out of the café when they saw him.
"You need to get back to the apartment immediately." He said, looking around them for possible attack. "Where are you parked?" He asked.
"A couple of blocks, that way." Kitty answered, looking worried. "What's wrong?"
"Lance has escaped and Cerebro put them close by. I just spotted Quicksilver watching you outside the café." Rogue paled and grabbed Kitty's arm.
"He wouldn't be so stupid as to come after you again." She said, trying to reassure her friend. "But let's get out of here." Warren's communicator beeped and he answered. His handsome features clouded and he hung up.
"That was the Professor." He said. "Lance and Pietro have disappeared off Cerebro's radar." He held his arms out for Kitty and she walked into his embrace. She closed her eyes as her feet left the ground snd she felt the rush of icy air around her legs. She tucked her head into Angel's shoulder and he flew her toward the garage. She had to open her eyes at one point to direct him to where her car was parked. When he landed with her, he ordered her to start the car anck tck the doors, if she saw anything fubefobefore he got back with Rogue, she was to step on the gas and drive directly to the mansion. She obeyed, locking her doors and buckling up.
Rogue waited ignoring the nervous crowd around her. Angel was one of the more accepted mutants because of his heavenly appearance. A few people were staring at her, some in curiosity, some in fear. One, likely an overeager off-duty reporter, came charging up to her asking her if she knew Angel. She just watched the skies and didn't answer. When the man got a little pushy with her, her temper got the better of her and she used the large frame she'd purchased as a none too gentle barrier between them.
"Back off. Ah'm not answering any questions." The man's expression turned ugly.
"What are you some kind of Mutant lover?" He snarled. She didn't bother to argue. There was no point in it. He didn't deserve her time or any personal information about the X-Men if his first response was to throw insults hoping for a reaction. She started to walk away but he grabbed her shoulder. "I asked you a question." He snapped. He had the frustrated, hungry look of a lower rung reporter who probably didn't get regular work.
"You don't remove that hand, you'll be getting it in the mail." She mumbled over her shoulder.
"Is that a threat?' He said loudly.
"The way I see it." Came a voice from above. "You're the one with your hands all over the lady." Warren was always good for an entrance line. He kicked up some dust clouds and the crowd parted for him. The reporter froze with his hand still clutching Rogue's shoulder. She knocked it away with a gloved hand and went to Warren. He eyed the bulky packaged she was carrying and rolled his eyes. Rogue shrugged and approached him. She turned around and leaned back against his chest, not wanting to risk accidental skin contact with his face. He wrapped his arms around her waist and with a few strong beats of his wings they lifted off the ground. Unlike Kitty, Rogue loved flying. When they reached the garage, Kitty was still waiting in the car.
"Thanks for the ride." She said as he set her down.
"Anytime, Honey." He said. "I'll see you at the apartment. Lock yourselves in, I need to see the professor then I'll come by way of the balcony; don't let anyone else in." He soared out the window and Kitty tore out of the garage as soon as Rogue was buckled. They merged with traffic and drove as quickly as the congested city would allow them. Though they technically live within the city limits, they were on the outskirts. When they made it to their building, they took only the bags that were in the back seat, leaving the ones in the trunk for later. They hurried to their door and Kitty phased through the door, remaining intangible for long enough to take a quick peek around. She solidified and let her roommate in.
"Wouldn't believe the guy Ah ran into while Angel was takin' you to the car." Rogue said and told Kitty about the nasty reporter she'd met. Her friend shook her head.
"He's fascinated with Angel until he can't get answers, then he pulls out the old crowd pleasing; 'mutant lover'." She shrugged. "No way you can win an argument on the street like that. You did the right thing by walking away."
"Sometimes Ah just wish Ah had a little bit of Xavier's powers to turn his mind just enough so he understads what he's really saying. And how stupid it is." She sat on the couch and kicked off her shoes.
"I know what you mean." Kitty agreed, groaning as she sat down next to Rogue and took off her own boots. "I just wish there were more media resources for pro mutant groups." The ringing of the phone interrupted their discussion; Kitty got up to answer it. "Hello?" She said into the mouthpiece.
"Kitten, it's Logan." Came the gruff voice on the other end. "Angel's gonna be there in a few minutes, I'm drivin over with yer boyfriend and we're crashin on the couch till we get a better idea of where 'Tweedle Dumb' and 'Tweedle really fuckin' stupid' are." Kitty chuckled in spite of her nerves. She'd be glad to see Kurt. She relayed the message to Rogue.
"We'll be here." She said.
"Hope you've got enough food." Logan said before hanging up.
Rogue knew what was on Kitty's mind when the slender girl sat down beside her on the couch. She looked at her intently for a moment before speaking.
"I know we only have a little time before Warren arrives." She said. "But we need to get the whole Quicksilver thing out of the way." When Rogue didn't answer, she prodded. "Is there anything more I should know about you and Pietro?" She asked.
"There is no me and Pietro. At least not on my end." She sighed. It wasn't going to be easy to explain. "Remy told me that Pietro had some kind of weird crush on me at some point, but then it turned ugly." Before Kitty could ask anything she held up a hand. "Ah don't know when he had the crush, and Ah don't know when or why it went bad on him. As far as Ah can remember, Ah never gave him any encouragement at all. He never seemed to have any interest so you're guess is as good as mine for how this all happened."
"Has Gambit told you anything new?"
"He started to tell me something about Pietoingoing to see some scientist but that's when Kurt came in." Kitty swore under her breath.
"Our timing couldn't have been worse, then." She said. "Do you have any way of contacting him?"
"Nope, he just kinda shows up." Rogue said with a shrug. "Can't say it's the best relationship. But Ah can't complain." Before Kitty could reply, they both jumped when a dark form drew their attention to the balcony. Angel's massive wings blocked out most of the gray, afternoon light from the window where he stood.
Rogue went to the sliding glass door and let him in. He locked it behind him and joined them in the living room, folding his wings carefully to avoid bumping any lamps or knick nacks.
"Did Logan call?" He asked. Kitty nodded. "Good, I don't want either of you to feel like you not not being looked after." Then, noting their twin expressions of annoyance, he continued. "Of course, you two are more than capable of handling yourselves, but you know that when one is targeted, we all try to lend a hand, or, uh, wing." He added sheepishly. Rogue narrowed her eyes. "Um, help?" He asked feigning desperation.
"It's okay, Warren." Kitty said. "So long as you understand that if some big game hunter starts hanging around looking to mount those beauties," she pointed to his wings, "on his wall, we'll be staying with you in your apartment." Rogue chuckled and Warren looked thoughtful. He stroked an imaginary beard.
"Big game hunter, huh?" He said to himself. "That's what it takes to get girls in my apartment."